Animal Magnetism
by Rang Tracyn
Summary: When a helping with a quest things go horribly, romantically, humorously, wrong. Leaving Crathia a night elf druid with a Horde admirer, a new job, and a big problem. Watch as she stumbles through strange new cultures and learns about orc courting!


(Blizzard owns wow the characters I created here are mine, You No Steal Candle! I mean story.....-coughs-.....Yes story. Anyway I haven't decided whether to make this just a one shot or a little short story or what yet. Trying to get back into the swing of writing on here.)

**Animal Magnetism **

It all began with that idiotic quest. Her good friend Jesper had been trying for a while to get good with the Argent Crusade. Wanting to join them and knowing that she was a lower ranking representative he had latched onto Crathia to help him. Now she'd been with the Argent Dawn since she was a young druid having been hand picked by them from her night elf birth-en for her aptitude with languages and the fact she thought before she attacked or spoke.

That and people just tended to like her, maybe because Crathia attempted to help. You'd be amazed how far giving someone some extra bandages when they run out or loaning someone your water flask and so on went. Then again it could also be that compared to her more stoic counter parts she was a bit more approachable. Of course this was likely because she was extremely small for a night elf being about the size of a human female.

her father, Elune bless his soul, told her it was because her grandmother had been human. This left Crathia with fair, but pale skin like a humans and their size. All in all she appeared to be just a miniature night elf, pocket sized as her human companion called her. Jesper, a warrior, had been a friend of hers for almost as long as she had been in the Argent Dawn.

When she was shipped North with the new division of the Argent Crusade he'd tagged along.

Jesper had wanted to be in the Argent Dawn or Crusade for as long as she'd known him. The human though was a bit on the rash side, which was not the best thing when the Argent Crusade skirted the edge of disaster on a daily basis upholding the fragile peace in Icecrown between Horde and Alliance. Still he ran errands, helped out, killed things, and took quests.

Who ever had come up with this quest though had to be brain dead. I mean who goes on rumors that some lady in a lake would hand you an epic weapon if you kissed a few frogs? And who would be dumb enough to let their weapon fall in such disrepair as to need such a possibly cursed blade?

Obviously some officer in the Argent Crusade did as now Crathia sat on a rock by some lake in Grizzly hills watching as Jesper waded in the shallows catching and kissing frogs.

He'd begged her to come along seeing as there was a small horde camp nearby that had a caravan that went over the bare dirt road at the edge of the lake. It wasn't so much the caravan that made her friend nervous, but the very energetic, trigger happy, young, horde warriors that escorted it. Alliance, Argent Crusade, Horde, or poor innocent by-stander, if you heard them coming you dove for cover. Apparently the caravan had started asking for escorts ever since some important Horde diplomat had disappeared right by the lake where Crathia now sat.

Leaning back she closed her eyes letting my sensitive ears keep watch as she enjoyed the sun on her skin her short raggedly cut white hair tucked behind her ears. Oh well Jesper's embarrassment and work was a day off napping in the sun for her.

"Found her yet?" She called out half curious though since she hadn't heard anything odd yet besides the splashing of her friend and his muttered curses every time he found out that his chosen frog was nothing, but a frog.

"Damn it Crathia I was sure that one was her!" He called out disappointed slathering a bit of the wart stopper lotion on his lips again.

"Jesper you've been saying that for an hour now." She spoke my voice giving away the laughter she was holding in as he let out a disgusted snort before continuing his work.

"I'm not gonna let some silly curse beat me! Besides if I kiss her free and she's good looking maybe I'll get another!" He called out laughing whole-heartedly.

"Sure thing Romeo keep telling yourself that!" Crathia yelled out grinning as she sat up keeping an eye on her friend's progress or lack thereof.

Finally after another hour he let out a groan looking up at her doing his best to attempt to look pathetic and cute hoping to get a hand up on whatever he was about to ask of her.

"No Jesper I'm not helping you kiss" She spoke only to be cut off.

"No it's not that!" He interrupted me fidgeting slightly.

"All right then what is it?" She asked sighing tilting her head as she waited for him answer pondering if the cold temperature of the water might be numbing her friend's brain.

"Um well natures sort of calling and could you watch the road for a bit while I run answer?" He asked looking so down right embarrassed she couldn't help put poke fun at him.

"Now Jesper you're not a druid!" Xrathia called out laughing as he blushed hard growling beneath his breath.

"Damn it Crathia you know that's not what I meant!" He yelled out shifting from one foot to the other clearly needing to go visit the restroom known as a tree.

"Ok, ok. Don't get your armor in a twist Jesp. Go ahead and go take care of business just make sure to bury it and get at least a way away from the tree line. If I'm not sitting on this rock when you can see the lake don't come out of the forest yadda yadda. You know the drill." She spoke waving him off as he dashed past her faster then she had thought him capable of running making a beeline into the forest.

Then again nature made people do funny things. That pie he ate was probably coming back to bite him. Then again she'd seen men eat things that no one in their right mind would. Something about not looking before they swallowed and so on and needing to appease their stomach. There was a reason she could cook. There was no way Crathia was chancing some of the inn food she had seen in my travels.

Sighing she leaned back closing her eyes and was lulled asleep by the gentle warmth of the sun. It's not sure how long she had slept when shouts and the jingle of armor and equipment jolted her from awake.

The caravan!

Her eyes flew open as she looked around feeling panicked. They were close! Very close! Spotting their shadows as they rounded the bend she dove shifting forms as she slipped into the lake.

Sinking low she treaded water in her aquatic form beneath the surface praying one of them did not glance at the lake and wonder if the ripples that still shook the surface weren't a bit big for a frog wishing to take a dip. As their shadows fell across the lake from the road she shrank back huddling against the edge of where the road veered off into the water pressing her back to the rock.

Crathia spent a good fifteen shaky minutes in hiding before she was sure they had passed and rose. Switching to her elf form she swam to the surface trying to carefully avoid the frogs that had chosen to hide with her.

Great now she was cold and sopping wet. That and there was a good chance they would come back in a couple of hours and she would be forced to repeat the incident. Shivering slightly her head broke the surface as she breathed in the sweet Grizzly Hill air, then as she moved my hand to wipe the water from my eyes she felt something smooth and wet press to her lips and things got a whole lot worse.

Crathia felt a burst of magic rip through her as suddenly she was hoisted into the air the feel of lips pressed hard against her own and the embrace of the freezing water replaced by strong muscled arms holding her pressed tight against a very large, warm, sopping wet chest.

I think if she wasn't a night elf she would have died of a heart attack at the surprise. Though at that moment the organ chose only to skip a few beats, as she froze with shock her eyes still shut as she felt the rough warm lips that had been pressed to her own move away.

Letting her eyes flutter open she allowed curiosity to win as she peered up at her captor.

It was an orc, his skin such a dusky green beneath the scars it could hardly be called green at all. His hair was a deep dull black cropped short in a messy wild fashion on his head along side a short close cut beard that looked like an over grown five o'clock shadow.

Looking up she eyes met the deep intelligent brown ones of the orc as he stared down at her observing her as much as she was he.

"I….Could you? Let me down? Please?" She asked her orcish rough and broken with shock, the language she had learned for representing the Argent Crusade sounding strange with her Elvin accent.

At least now she knew where that missing horde diplomat had gotten off to.

Crathia watched as he eyed her still holding her small frame against his own muscled one. A look of amusement and something she couldn't quite decipher in his eyes.

Feeling one of his arms around her waist shift she thought for a moment he was going to comply with her request only to be caught up in confusion as he trailed one hand up her back threading his fingers into the pale swan colored locks at the back of her head and neck. Glancing up at him Crathia paled as he tilted his head slamming his lips against my own in a rough kiss.

Sensations overrode her thoughts, a sudden feeling of warmth overcoming Crathia's cold body as his calloused hand pressed against the back of her head.

They could have stayed there for only seconds or hours for all she knew as the world suddenly rushed back to her as he pulled back a second time letting out a low rumbling chuckle as he stared down at her.

"Such a pretty elf." He murmured softly in perfect common even having the gall to lick his lips as though her kiss had been some sort of treat.

At that moment anger and annoyance flashed through her like a wild fire as she snarled shifting in his grip to her feline form. Crathia might play diplomat for the Argent Crusade, but she was in no way mild mannered as she growled out in anger. Unsheathing her claws she slashed up at the surprised orc catching him across the face leaving three claw marks to cross his right eyes.

Roaring out in pain and surprise his grip loosened allowing her to struggle free as she pushed her hind paws against his plated chest sending her from his arms as she shifted mid air into her flight form. Spreading her wings Crathia flapped hard gaining altitude as she swooped down skimming the lake and making for the trees incase he chose to draw a gun and try to shoot her out of the air.

With her back turned she didn't see him watching her a look of determination in his eyes and a grin on his lips the promised that she had not seen the last of him.

Not by a long shot.

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Please read and review thank you.


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